
Trebles all round at JPL (well it would be, but this being the US alcohol is strictly banned at NASA’s planetary exploration facility in Pasadena) after the successful arrival on the planet Mars of the mega-rover Curiosity.
When I first heard how they were planning to get more than a tonne of nuclear- powered kit down on to the Martian surface in one piece I thought they were joking.
'You’re going to use parachutes?'
Yup.
'Then retro-rockets?'
You betcha......
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